Tipperary Nominations Sought for ‘Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards 2013’

Reporter:

Staff Reporter

22 Jul 2013

0

ipperary entries are being sought for the 2013 ‘Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards’. This is the third year of the awards, a joint initiative between Ireland’s premier hearing healthcare provider Hidden Hearing and the Irish Deaf Society. The Awards honour those who are Deaf or hard of hearing and who make a significant contribution to society, their community, workplace or through sporting excellence.

ipperary entries are being sought for the 2013 ‘Hidden Hearing Heroes Awards’. This is the third year of the awards, a joint initiative between Ireland’s premier hearing healthcare provider Hidden Hearing and the Irish Deaf Society. The Awards honour those who are Deaf or hard of hearing and who make a significant contribution to society, their community, workplace or through sporting excellence.

The awards were launched today by Deaf badminton players Johnny Corcoran and Aidan Connor, sporting heroes who will represent Ireland in Bulgaria at the Deaflympics this month.

Members of the Tipperary public can nominate their ‘hero’ who they feel deserves to be recognised for an Award across several different categories and nominees can also put themselves forward for an award. Submissions can be made online, by post or by video using Irish Sign Language which will then be transcribed – see www.hiddenhearing.ie for full nomination details. Previous winners included Orla O’Sullivan, a Deaf-Blind pianist and teacher, who developed a unique and successful method to teach music to Deaf children and Killian McDonnell, a teenager who made history as the first Deaf student with Down Syndrome to pass his Leaving Cert.

Speaking at the launch of the Awards, Stephen Leddy, Managing Director, Hidden Hearing said: “Over the past few years of the Heroes Awards we’ve seen some truly inspirational stories of those who are Deaf and hard of hearing and are excelling in various aspects of life. The Awards promote these great achievements and shine a light on these heroes, who are an example to everybody that being Deaf and hard of hearing does not have to hold you back in life.”

Discussing the Awards, Kevin Mulqueen, Chairperson, Irish Deaf Society said: “There has been great excitement within the Deaf community around the Heroes Awards in the past and the Irish Deaf Society is delighted to be involved again. The Deaflympics is also taking place shortly so I would expect some very strong candidates in the Sporting Category.”

There are six Award Categories for the Heroes Awards:

· Workplace Award - an award for someone who has excelled in the workplace

· Youth Award - for those aged between 6 – 18 who have achieved much in their young lives

· Family Award – nomination for a family member who has been a great support to a Deaf or hard of hearing person

· Lifetime Achievement Award – for an individual who has played a key role over their lifetime.

Nominations can be submitted online at www.hiddenhearing.ie or www.deaf.ie by requesting a nomination form at awards@hiddenhearing.ie , by filling out an entry form in Hidden Hearing’s 65 branches and clinics around the country or at the Irish Deaf Society headquarters - 30 Blessington Street, Dublin 7. Video nominations with Irish Sign Language can also be submitted which will be transcribed by the Irish Deaf Society – contact awards@irishdeafsociety.ie or 01-8601878.

If you wish, you can contact us using any of the methods below: Tipperary Star,Friar Street,Thurles, Co TipperaryEmail: news@tipperarystar.ieTelephone: 0504 29100

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